The Minnesota PGA Junior Golf Association and The Valspar Corporation are proud to announce that four high school seniors have been selected to receive a 2017 Valspar Minnesota PGA Junior Golf Scholarship. The scholarship recipients are: Adam Young of Battle Lake, Grace Kellar of Edina, Jared Hunt of Forest Lake, and Stephanie Herzog of Red Wing.

Beginning this fall, each of these four junior golfers will receive a four-year-long, $8,000 scholarship. The Minnesota PGA Junior Golf Association awards these scholarships on the criterion of high school grades, class rank, ACT/SAT scores, extracurricular activities and involvement, financial need as well as an essay and an interview.

Valspar provided $32,000 to the Minnesota PGA Foundation to fund the scholarships. Since 2011, Valspar has donated more than $264,000 in scholarships to worthy junior golfers.

“Valspar is proud to partner with the Minnesota PGA to help these impressive young people pursue their academic and professional goals,” said Aaron Erter, President and GM, Valspar. “These students have outstanding credentials and bright futures, and we’re pleased to support them as they go on to make their mark in college and in their careers.”

“The Minnesota PGA Junior Golf Association is honored and proud to help these young and talented students continue their academic careers at the collegiate level,” said Minnesota PGA CEO Jeffrey Hintz. “We are thankful to Valspar for being such a tremendous community partner.”

About the winners:

Adam Young earned six varsity letters in golf, three as captain, and another in cross country at Battle Lake Secondary. He was named all-conference three times in golf, conference MVP twice, and was a participant in the 2015 and 2016 Boys’ Golf State Tournament. Young served as class Vice President, was heavily involved in Choir, a member of the Honor Society and other various clubs. This fall, he will study business at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities in Minneapolis.

Grace Kellar attended Edina High School, earning four varsity letters in golf and two in basketball. She spent her senior season as captain of the girls’ golf team. Kellar was awarded all-conference three times and all-state and all-state academic honors twice in her career at Edina. In addition to her athleticism, she was involved in Choir and UNICEF (United Nation’s Children Fund). She will play golf at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities and major in biomedical engineering.

Jared Hunt collected four varsity letters in golf and was a captain for his senior season at Forest Lake High School. He received three letters in Student Council, one as part of the Honor Society and four more on the Youth Advisory Board. He will attend North Dakota State University in Fargo, N.D. to pursue a degree in Architecture.

Stephanie Herzog tallied six varsity letters in golf at Red Wing High School, including four all-state and all-conference selections, and two letters in basketball. She was also a member of the Red Wing girls’ golf team that won the Class AA State Championship. As a participant in the Minnesota PGA Junior Golf Association, Herzog won the 2016 Minnesota Junior PGA Championship and represented Minnesota in the national tournament in Rumford, R.I. this past August. She will attend the University of Iowa in Iowa City, Iowa to play golf and study accounting and English.